Za'atari refugee camp is the fifth largest settlement in Jordan. Its Syrian residents have built informal businesses, infrastructure and a new sense of identity. In other words, they have built a city – so shouldn't it be designed more like one?

An exhibition at the Roca London Gallery showcases a series of architectural proposals to reclaim natural water sources in London, New York and Copenhagen for recreational use. We spoke to curator Jane Withers about how we can better exploit our rivers and harbours

Last week, the Venezuelan government began evicting the residents of Torre David – a 45-storey vertical slum in central Caracas that is home to more 3,000 people. We asked Daniel Schwartz of Urban-Think Tank, who recently made a film about the tower, about the reasons behind the move

Icon asked a dozen experts and practitioners to nominate the people they think are, in some way, shaping the future. The resulting list of global talent is a snapshot that shows how young designers and architects are pushing the boundaries of their disciplines and trying to change the world